Surrealist topic of museum lunch series

Next up in the Lunch with the Artist series at the Newport Art Museum is a discussion on Joan Mir.

On Tuesday, March 21, Richard Tyre will discuss Mir, the Spanish Surrealist, The noontime discussion is free for museum members and costs $3 for non-members.

Born in Barcelona, Mir moved to Paris in the mid-1930s, realizing like so many young artists that Paris was the center of the art world of his day. Gradually developing his style, he painted with the Surrealists for some time but left that group to create his dream-like canvases, employing simple, distorted shapes and lines painted with strong colors on neutral backgrounds based on memory, fantasy, and even hallucination.

Mir was a study in opposites: his paintings, prints and sculptures broke new ground, but he appeared in public resembling a businessman in a suit. Lunch with the Artist is a monthly feature at the Newport Art Museum. Coffee is provided by the museum, and bag lunches are welcome. For more information, call 848-8200.